II. Organization and Present Condition. — During the eventful decade just reviewed, Rev. William Ellery Channing (born in Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780), then in the prime of manhood, with early ripeness of spiritual fruitage, became, by eloquence of tongue and pen, the conspicuous leader of the Unitarian movement. At the ordination of Jared Sparks, in 1819, as minister of the Unitarian Church in Baltimore, his discourse expound- ing Unitarian Christianity made a profound impression. His intense dislike and dread of sectarianism gave to his preaching an emphasis of individualism and spirit- ual liberty. Never permitting himself to become the devotee of a sect, to him Unitarianism owes much of its freedom from sectarian and dogmatic trammels. Less a controversialist than a devout and practical preacher, he fearlessly, yet reverently, sought the truth, brought into prominence the spiritual elements of human nat- ure, subjected religious systems to the test of the soul's best instincts and sentiments, and made it his supreme aim to kindle the aspiration for holinesss. His testi- mony was chiefly borne to the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, to the worth of human nature and blessedness of human life, to the dignity of labor and the elevation of the working classes, to spiritual
freedom and the divine mission and authority of Jesus Christ. He has come to be recognised by all sects as one of the foremost of American preachers and writers, a leading champion of religious and civil freedom, of education and |)hilanthrop\', a seeker fir truth, a lover of mankind, and a devoted advocate of Christianity. In April, 1880. the centenary of his birth was celebrated in London and in several of the larger cities in America, many persons of other denominations joining, and the corner-stone was laid of a memorial church at Newport, his birthplace. See Channing.
The division in the Church was not of Unitarian seeking. The Unitarian leaders were willing, in the large fellowship and free faith of Congregationalism, to maintain the unity of the Church unbroken. They would have borne their testimony to truth as they saw it, urging all others freely to do the same. The neces- sity of separation was enforced by fellowship with- drawn, controverted opinions put forward as tests, and by charges made that rendered it impossible to stay. After the break had come, it was with no desire to build a new sect or to prolong the bitterness of contro- versy— it was to do their own part in the vineyard that the Unitarians went apart and worked in their own way. But, from the first, their attitude has never ceased to be that Church unity is to be found, not in identity of opinion, but in personal freedom and in brotherly love ; and they have declared their readiness on this broad basis to join in fellowship with all wlio claim to hold the Christian faith and who prove their discipleship by consistent lives. In the exercise of free- dom there have always been within the Unitarian fold varieties of individual opinion, while in the same free- dom a few have gone into the Trinitarian household and others into a position antichristian or non-Christian,
On May '24, 1825, wasibrmed in Boston " The Ameri- can Unitarian Association." Its first article declares its purpose to be " to diffuse the knowledge and pro- mote the interests of pure Christianit}'." It was incor- porated in 1848, with the right to hold trust funds, and has at the present time about $200,000. Without ec- clesiastical authority, it is purel}' a missionary organi- zation, using annual contributions from the churches for publishing and distributing books and tracts, sus- taining missionaries, aiding feeble churches, and plant- ing new ones. Its operations are mainly in the home- field of America. For forty years its activities were small, the missionary spirit of the denomination being checked by dread of the sectarian spirit, and the benev- olent gifts of the people taking more the direction of education and general philanthropj'. But within the last fifteen j'ears its income has greatlj' increased, in 1866 and 1872 exceeding $100,000, although it by no means receives all of the denominational gifts for relig- ious missionary purposes.
On April 5, 1865, a convention, consisting of the pas- tor and two delegates from each church or parish in the Unitarian denomination, met in the city of New York and organized a National Conference, " to the end of energizing and stimulating the denomination with which they are connected to the largest exertions in the cause of Christian faith and work." Its preamble declared that "the great opportunities and demands for Christian labor and consecration at this time increase our sense of the obligations of all disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to prove their faith by self-denial, and by the devotion of their lives and possessions to the service of God and the building-up of the kingdom of his Son." It is a representative body of pastors and delegates, chosen and meeting biennially, purely advisory in char- acter, for counsel and fellowship. Its meetings are held in September at Saratoga, open to the public, and are steadily increasing in the numbers attending, also in interest and in practical purpose and value. Since its formation, the Unitarian churches of America have given more for missionary purposes than in all their previous historv. Within smaller and more convenient